Standing in the Rain
by Picup
Summary: Persona 4. He didn't like the rain, it brought sadness, sorrow, regret... "You know... The rain feels really good."


Title: Standing in the Rain  
Type: One-shot  
Genre: A bit... angsty I guess, light fluff xD  
Word count: 1393  
Pairing: Extremely light Main Character x Yukiko Amagi  
Rating: K+ to T-ish I would say...  
Spoiler/Time Frame: Not much actually... I don't know, if there is a spoiler you guys can slap me lol.  
Disclaimer: Do not own Persona 4, nope.

Main Character Name Used: Shinyu Yamada

I don't use Seta Souji (or Souji Seta) so don't even bother asking.

_

* * *

Pat... Pat... Pat..._

Dark grey eyes stared silently at the gloomy outdoors. He turned around, switched the TV off as it finished with the weeks forecast. So, today was the last day for rain, huh... He turned on his heel once more and went back to staring. He let out a small held breath, before he heard a voice -- a distant memory in his head.

_"Whether you end your journey here, or retrace your steps some way..."_

It was almost like a sudden headache as he heard that -- and he quickly gripped his head, grabbing at the nearby window sill to steady himself. Why was that talk with Igor still plaguing him...?

Was it because it was...

"Brother! Breakfast!"

He heard a call from downstairs, and he tore his eyes from the window. He shouted a small 'Coming!' before shutting the curtains.

Today was a nice day to go for a walk.

---

"Looks like today will be a quiet day at the inn... Yukiko-sama, looks like you'll have some free time on your hands today."

A maid chirped happily as she stared out the window while holding a basket full of laundry in her hands. The older woman sighed, "But of course, this laundry can not be dried outside..." She glanced over at the young, ebony haired girl -- who was finishing up her breakfast, and proceeding to clean it up. "Ahh... I see, maybe I'll ask Chie if she wants to do something..."

Yukiko paused at that thought, if it was a quiet day, it was most likely raining.

"Oh? There's actually someone out there, while it's raining cats and dogs?"

Yukiko blinked at that response from the maid -- as she dried her hands on a cloth, tossing it to the side before walking over the window to glance out. Her eyes had to narrow at first, trying to pick out if that was just some random man or...

She blinked once more, was that...?

"Yamada-kun...?"

She found herself mumbling quietly under her breath. At first, she couldn't recognize him -- but the dash of silver hair caught her attention fast. It was most likely a lucky catch to see it, as it looked like he was covered tightly in a jacket, with a cotton scarf wrapped around his neck, and the umbrella above him to protect him from the rain that poured out from the sky.

Now she was unsure if she wanted to phone Chie... Maybe accompanying Yamada-kun on a walk...

She felt a soft nudge at her side, as the same servant who held the laundry basket had put it down, and brought her umbrella and jacket. The older woman softly smiled, "... Go, I'll tell your mother you'll be out for the day."

With a soft, 'thank you', Yukiko Amagi was out the door of the Amagi inn in little less then a couple of minutes.

---

_"The time has come to make a decision."  
_"Continue on living with the guilt of not saving the victim, or go back a week and have a second chance to save him or her from the clutches of death…"

He found himself mumbling those words quietly; watching the rain drops hit the smooth pavement in front of him. Shuddering, he wrapped his jacket more tightly around himself, but he knew all well that it wasn't the cold draft or the cool liquid that fell from the sky that made him shudder.

"But with such a thing as going back in time, you must pay the price. I will not release your memories, as you will remember what terror you have done, and the mistakes you had made…"  
"Y-Y-Yamada-kun…?"

Shinyu Yamada nearly jumped out of his skin as a soft, feminine (yet a bit raspy) voice had flowed into his ears. He turned around, and saw a familiar, ebony haired girl standing behind him. A pink umbrella held above her head, but she seemed to slouch down a little – panting for breath… She must have ran after him…

"Am-Amagi… Why…"  
"I… I saw you pass by the Inn… And… I just… felt like you wanted some company…"

Blood rushed to her cheeks as she was easily embarrassed by saying that – and she turned away quickly. Another thought had dawned onto her.

"I-I-I mean…! If-If you don't want company, I'll h-happily lea—"  
"No, that's fine. Your company would be great."

She meekly looked up at him and couldn't help but crack a smile as he had a boyish grin on his face as he said that. But there was something she noted in his eyes, it looked like it was filled with sadness… regret.

"… Actually… Amagi… There's something I have to tell you…"  
"L-Let's go down to the Riverside… we can talk there while walking along the way."

He just nodded, before the two headed down to the Flood Plains, at the request of one Yukiko Amagi.

---

To Yukiko, it felt almost like another day with hanging out with Yamada-kun, the only thing she noted was that look in his eyes. He seemed so sad when he looked at her… Even with a smile on his face – she couldn't help but know that something was bothering him.

They reached the Flood Plains in no time, and stared out at the river – as it was flowing with the rain coming down. She slowly glanced at her companion beside her, observing his unchanged facial expressions as he stared at the river.

"… Yamada-kun… What's on your mind…?"  
"… I'm sure you remember back in April… With your dungeon… and your shadow?"

Yukiko didn't have to be reminded of that, but she slowly nodded. In her mind, she was trying to put the puzzle together, trying to figure out what had plagued him with such sadness.

"This… is going to sound weird but… I… I murdered you."

Yukiko seemed to freeze and she felt like time had stopped all around her. Yamada-kun… He… He couldn't have murdered her… She was alive… right now…. Breathing…

"I-I mean not like that… But… You see… I made a terrible… horrible mistake. Your shadow had leaded us through traps and diverted and wasted our time in your dungeon… Every time I heard Hanamura complain of feeling light headed after using the 10th healing art, or Satonaka kneel down because of wounds and body strain… I would stop, and then get out of there as fast as we can…"

He paused, seeming to almost shake. Yukiko had watched his eyes closely this time, and she saw regret...

"… I'm such an idiot… When the fog rolled in on April 30th… I got a phone call that night after the sirens wailed… '… Amagi-san was the one found dead…'"

It fell silent between the two – the rain seeming to pour down more, harshly beating on their umbrellas as they continued to watch the river.

"… I was given a decision to re-live the week before in order to make up for my terrible mistake. But a heavy price was paid."

He finished off quietly and Yukiko knew what price it was… She could easily see it in his eyes. Silently, he lowered his umbrella, letting it fall to the grass with a soft thud. He stepped forward, standing before the hill that lead to the Riverside. His head tilted towards the sky – eyes shutting a little.

He knew he didn't like the rain, it always made things gloomy, cold… It reminded him of death, of regret, of sadness…

He let out a soft sigh – wishing that he could just flow down the river without any care.

That was, until he felt something clutch tightly on the back of his jacket, and a head slowly burying into the damp material.

"… You should have told me sooner… I could have helped you… I… I'm not mad at you… I'll never be mad at you… Shinyu-kun…"

As those words echoed into his mind, he could hear the voices start to quiet down from that time back in April, when he allowed the first victim… Yukiko Amagi die in the hands of Mayonaka TV.

He felt like… he was at peace with himself.

"… You know… The rain feels really good."

* * *

Authoress Notes: First thought of this story, wow, I attempted to wrote something more somber instead of happy, go lucky.

Wow, just wow.

And wow, it's Persona 4.

I didn't even think I would dare attempt to write one until I finished the game -- and I'm not even close after having this game since... July.

OTL.

If you are going to ask, I am a big fan of the Main Character and Yukiko Amagi. Indeed I am. This story spawned from watching the ending of Chloe Valens Character Quest from Tales of Legendia... Err.. yeah. If you are going to ask why couldn't I have done it with someone else, like Rise or Naoto -- because Yukiko made the most sense to put in a situation like this, if you let any of them die, you can go back a week. In my logical sense (which is really screwed up mind you), Yukiko might have died because it was the Main's first victim and he didn't know how to quite handle it.

Err... Yeah that's just my two cents.

I have nothing else to say, so enjoy -- and please review.


End file.
